


The Mother

by ailixandrite2dot0 (AILiSeki)



Series: Crystal Authority/Diamond Rebellion AU [3]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Crystal Authority AU, Diamond Rebellion AU, F/M, Gen, Roleswap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:54:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24153136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AILiSeki/pseuds/ailixandrite2dot0
Summary: Steven hears about his mother from different people
Relationships: Blue Diamond & Pink Diamond & White Diamond & Yellow Diamond (Steven Universe), Pink Diamond/Greg Universe
Series: Crystal Authority/Diamond Rebellion AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676866
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	The Mother

At 8 years of age, Steven didn’t think a lot about his Mom.

He knew she existed, and he knew her name. His father had a few pictures of her around. He was familiar with her fluffy pink hair and her kind smile. He knew he got his gem from her.

But she wasn’t around, so she wasn’t in his mind often. It didn’t feel weird for him. Peedee’s mother also wasn’t around, neither was Sadie’s father. He had his Dad and he had the Diamonds, and that was his family.

The weeks before he was to move in with the Diamonds, Steven spent a long time sitting down with his ukelele, working on a song to celebrate the occasion. Greg found him one night staring at a picture of him and Pink when he was younger, his instrument resting on his lap.

He kneeled down near his son.

“Dad, what was Mom like?”

Greg smiled. “Just like the pictures. She didn’t change much during all the time I knew her.”

Steven chuckled.

“Not her looks. What was she really like?”

Greg took the picture in his hands, remembering the day it was taken. Talking about Pink was bittersweet. They had been happy together, and he felt he would always miss her.

But he wouldn’t change what he had now for anything, and he knew she wouldn’t either.

“She was the most interesting person I ever met.” He said in a soft tone. “She was smart, and had a great taste in music, and she knew the best jokes in this side of the galaxy, probably.” He chuckled to himself.

Steven looked up at him starry-eyed.

“And she would be very proud of you.” He messed his son’s hair affectionally.

Steven chuckled. His mother sounded like she was a great person. He wished he could have met her.

* * *

Steven remained by the fountain, even long after Yellow was healed. He was still shaken by the silhouette he had seen when the _tears_ flowed back.

The Diamonds were somewhere near discussing how to keep the place in better shape. Steven’s only company was the statue of his mother, her eyes closed, tears flowing.

He felt so small near her.

“Are you alright?” Blue asked, approaching him. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I told Yellow to stop showing off near the cliff.”

“It’s alright,” Steven said, truly believing that. That was enough for Blue. “I thought diamonds didn’t crack.”

“They’re hard to scratch, but they can crack and even break.” She looked down at the diamond on her own chest.

“What happens if one of yours get broken?” Steven asked. Worried. A bit fearful.

Blue chose her next words carefully. “We stop existing. But don’t worry, it takes a lot more than a cliff to get to that point.”

Hearing that did upset Steven, but he brushed it off. “Because you’re really tough, right?”

“Right!” Blue smiled. She did let her relief in his reaction spread. It didn’t hurt to focus on better things, right?

Steven looked behind at the statue of Pink, and his mood became a little sad again.

“Mom built this place? To heal anyone who got hurt?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a lot of tears.” He said, lowering his gaze. “She must have cried a lot.”

“That’s not how it works,” Blue said, a small smile on her lips. _Focus on good things. Don’t focus on_

_Forms glitching and screams of agony and gems falling apart._

Blue discreetly moved a little away from Steven, hoping he wouldn’t notice it.

“Did… you come here often?” He asked.

“More often than your mother would have liked.”

Good things. Good things.

“She… really felt hurt when others were hurt, right?”

“She had a true, deep love for everyone around her,” Blue said, voice filled with nostalgia. “She was such a kind, compassionate leader.”

Steven smiled. “Does any other of you have healing powers too?”

“Oh, no. Only Pink could do that.”

“Why? Aren’t you all Diamonds?”

“Yes, but… Pink was different. We couldn’t hope to be like her.”

Steven didn’t say it, but he knew what that felt like.

At 13 years old, Steven thought about his mother all the time. He thought of her every time he looked at the gem on his stomach, wondering if he could ever live up to her legacy.

* * *

“This is unfair! Gems don’t get tired!” Connie complained. She had been complaining about pains in her body from all the training since the beginning of the session, but Yellow wasn’t taking it easy with her.

“Actually, we do. We just don’t require such long breaks as you humans.” Yellow said.

Steven, who also felt exhausted, raised his hand and spoke. “White told me to remind you that you need to take breaks too if you started that creepy talk of training non-stop again.”

Yellow’s cheeks took a darker shade and she looked away. “Alright. Let’s take a break.”

Connie gave Steven a thankful look.

The three sat down on the ground, near each other.

“Did mother train with you too?” Steven asked.

Yellow smiled. “Of course she did. She taught me most of what I know about fighting.”

Steven had stars on his eyes. He heard a lot about Pink the healer from Blue, and about Pink the person from his Dad, but almost never about Pink the warrior.

“What was she like? Did she use the sword?” He looked at the pink sword that Connie now used.

“And the shield.” Yellow nodded at Steven. “She had a few millennia over us in practice and it did show. Her attacks were clean, no wasted moves. It was beautiful to watch.”

“Could she do cool things like… ‘Boomerang Blade’?” Steven asked.

Yellow was serious for a moment, but then she chuckled. “You know that’s not a real move.”

“Yeah, but could she do anything like that?”

Yellow thought for a moment. “Well, when she was surrounded by enemies, she could use a scream that disrupted their formation. It was pretty cool.”

“Do you think I can do that too?”

Yellow chuckled again. “Certainly not now. Don’t worry too much about it. Are you two having any food before we start again?”

At 13 years old, Steven thought about his mother all the time. Every time he couldn’t do things right, he wondered what she would have done. He wanted to be like her.

* * *

Steven sat on the grass near White. He was worried about her, he felt she distancing herself from the others these days, and he didn’t know what to do.

“Hey, is everything alright?” He asked softly.

“Yes, why wouldn’t it be?” She answered, voice flat.

There were so many reasons that Steven didn’t even know where to start. “You… didn’t want me to know about how things were on Homeworld, right?”

White sighed. “I knew we would have to have this talk eventually, I just hoped it could be later.”

Steven nodded. “Does it still hurt to remember it?”

“It shouldn’t. It was so long ago.” She sighed again. “But it does.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

White shook her head. Steven nodded.

“So you all b- worked for the Crystal Authority. Did Mom too…?”

“No,” White said. “Pink used to do… something else.” She didn’t elaborate.

“How did you meet her?”

White’s face lightened up just a little bit. “We - Blue and Yellow and me - had gotten in trouble with the Authority, and we ran away to Earth’s surface. We had no idea what we were doing, we just wanted to survive. Pink found us. She had heard of what we had done, and she thought we could help with her plans of rebellion.”

“Mom was the one who planned the rebellion?”

“Yes. We helped after it started, but it would never have started without her.”

“Woah.”

White smiled a small, controlled smile.

“What did you think of her, the first time you saw her?” Steven asked.

White’s smile disappeared. “I thought she was trouble. I mean, we had just met and she invited us to overthrow the government? How could I know I could trust her?” Steven nodded, understanding. She continued. “But, as time passed I could see that she was sincere. She truly wanted the best for all gems, and that included us.”

Steven smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes

At 14 years old, Steven thought about his mother all the time. She had been so amazing and kind and mysterious, and he wondered if everyone wouldn’t be better if she was still around instead of him. 

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea on Mother’s Day but I didn’t get to finish writing in time for it. Maybe it’s for the best, Steven’s mommy issues are not the best way to celebrate Mother’s Day. Anyway, my biggest goal here was introducing Pink Diamond in this AU. 
> 
> I hope you liked it!


End file.
